


Sanji is too gay to sleep

by Lesbian_pirates



Series: Sanji is in the closet [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Accidental Outing, Awkward Conversations, Blood and Injury, Coming Out, Haki (One Piece), Internalized Homophobia, M/M, New World (One Piece), Secret Crush, Self-Doubt, Sexuality Crisis, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27880809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesbian_pirates/pseuds/Lesbian_pirates
Summary: Sanji has been having trouble sleeping the past few days because of something that happened on the ship. The consequences of this gradually begin to set in as he struggles with every day tasks and the crew starts to take notice.
Relationships: Usopp/Sanji
Series: Sanji is in the closet [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050680
Comments: 12
Kudos: 85





	1. The Cake Accident

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place post-timeskip, between the events of Fish-Man Island and Punk Hazard. Which are both extremely close arcs but all the arcs after the timeskip kind of bleed into each other so...maybe this is just an alternate timeline? I don't really know.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sanji hasn't slept in two days and is nearing on three if he doesn't get his act together. Unfortunately, he can't stop thinking about something that happened earlier in the week and it doesn't seem likely that he is going to get any rest at all, let alone function properly.

The thoughts only showed up once in a while, when everything was quiet and unassuming. It would be easy to ignore them if not for the fact that they were so persistent, nagging at his brain like a little fly buzzing around. Except in this case, the fly is immortal and keeps coming back when you least expect it. 

It only took one thought to get Sanji’s mind reeling. Sometimes there was a trigger, most of the time there wasn’t. It was these little things that would pop into his mind. A memory of someone he cared for a bit too much, the creeping doubt that he wasn’t what he pretended to be and never would be. Just the sight of a guy out on the street was even enough to set him off. The thoughts were never consistent in content but were always alarming in their own special ways.

The easiest to ignore were the little doubts that Sanji had. They weren’t easy by any means and he would spend hours thinking over them but they were much easier to dismiss than the others. Everyone doubts themselves, it’s only human. There was nothing wrong with him for wondering, for thinking about it. Everyone does. 

However that’s the simplest it got. From there the thoughts only got more difficult to comprehend. Afterall, you can’t be defined by something you aren’t even sure you are. It’s much easier to throw away ideas that have no backing to them, but when they actually seem feasible, you can start to doubt even the most core facets of yourself. 

There were times when these doubts came floating in and he would spend all night between his bed in the men’s quarters, the kitchen, and the shower, trying to calm down enough to at least get some sleep before the morning came and he had to work. The smallest things freaked Sanji out, like that funny feeling he got in his stomach once accidentally touching Usopp’s hand. That one instance spiraled into countless nights of Sanji sitting frustrated with his hands in his hair, eyes closed, trying not to feel what he desperately didn’t want to feel. 

In the past he would either have better things to worry about or bury himself in his work to ignore these feelings. When he wasn’t completely focused on training like at the Baratie or Kamabakka Kingdom he found himself sometimes confused and out of his element. And even though he could in some way focus on his work now, Sanji found it much harder to bury these unwanted feelings now that he was really out in the world.

One night in particular these thoughts were even more devious than ever. It was somewhere around 1am and Sanji was in the kitchen with a cake in the oven, looking over some half-way done frosting sitting on the counter. He kept staring at the frosting as if it was going to magically whisk itself, his eyes barely being able to focus on the bowl. Normally a lack of sleep would be fine. He was used to not sleeping a lot, due to his responsibilities on the ship. It was everyone’s duty to guard the ship at night and typically with two hour shifts, everyone ended up on guard duty at least once per night. But even beyond that, he had to be up early to prepare breakfast for the crew. The whole crew, with the exception of a few, woke up relatively early into the morning and he felt the need to be there each day, food at the ready. 

But even though he was used to very little sleep, he hadn’t slept at all for the past two nights. That night would be the third if he didn’t get his head to clear. Luckily Sanji had started whisking the Italian buttercream and was finally in the zone, more or less. Once in a while a thought would nag at him but he just kept whisking. It wasn’t long until he had finished and the only thing left to do in the moment was to cut up the strawberries. Simple, right?

He went over to the fridge and for a second blankly stared at it. Nothing had changed about the fridge, it was the same as normal, but his head just wasn’t right When he finally shook himself out of it, he went to put in the combination for the lock and found himself completely unable to recall it. 

His brain couldn’t seem to actually find its way to the correct combination. It kept going over numbers that seemed familiar while in the forefront of his brain he was thinking of something that happened earlier in the week, and that sinking feeling in his stomach when he realized what he was feeling in that moment. Frustrated, Sanji pounded on the fridge, suddenly snapping himself out of the daze. A bit more frustrated than before, he slowly set the combination into place. 

Swinging open the fridge door, he found the strawberries quicker than one would expect in his state. Opening the container however, he saw that there were a lot less strawberries than he remembered. When had he made something with strawberries? He did use a lot of fruit in his baking but he couldn’t recall using them recently. 

Almost as soon as this thought crossed his mind it hit him like a ton of bricks. He had baked this same cake for the past two nights, without even noticing it. Luffy was very happy when he made it the second time. Robin even made a comment about how lovely it was both days. How could he have forgotten? And why was he making this same cake again? 

Ignoring his confusion, Sanji dumped the remaining strawberries on a cutting board, grabbed a knife, and started chopping them up. However as he got to the end of the strawberries, he suddenly recalled that sinking feeling in his stomach. Sanji didn’t notice that he had sliced one of his fingers until he saw blood splatter across the cutting board. 

“Shit!”

He looked down at his finger, wincing a bit. Luckily it doesn’t take much effort to cut strawberries, and so the chop was light and the cut relatively shallow. However it wasn’t anything small like a paper cut or something he could ignore.

Sanji rushed over the sink, careful to not spill any more blood and mess up the floor or any of the counters. Making quick work of it, he washed the cut and put a cloth on it. Applying pressure to the wound, he stood there for a few seconds in utter embarrassment. He couldn’t recall the last time he had cut or burnt himself. It must have been about when he started at the Baratie about eleven years ago. Maybe less time, he wouldn’t be surprised if he had cut himself as a young teen. Either way, he hadn’t had an accident a very long time. At this point he was too experienced and too careful to make such a stupid mistake. Even if he was in danger, observation haki would likely catch the action before he did it. It was just bad luck that he was not only sleep deprived but distracted at the moment.

The sound of footsteps from above disturbed his thinking. Looking up quickly, he saw the distinct outline of Zoro walking towards the ladder leading down into the kitchen. Of all people, why did it have to be him? Sanji looked down at his finger and then to the cutting board and knife, both splattered with his own blood. Cursing his bad luck Sanji moved quickly as he could, attempting to clean both things before Zoro could possibly make it into the kitchen. As he did this the footsteps got very close to the kitchen area and then suddenly stopped. 

“Hey idiot! What the fuck do you think you’re doing down there?” Zoro yelled down the hatch.

Sanji considered not responding, just continuing to clean his equipment and make the cake. But if he didn’t respond the idiot was likely to actually come down into the kitchen to see what was happening. The best thing he could now was avoid getting caught having just cut himself, and that meant actually responding. 

“Are you so dim witted that you don’t remember that a cook works in a kitchen? Come on marimo, this is pathetic even for you…”

There was silence for a second but Sanji could tell that he had struck a nerve with that comment. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to insult him that much, he might be even more inclined to come on down now in an attempt to fight Sanji. 

“I don’t have time for your idiotic ramblings. You were needed on guard duty thirty minutes ago. The only reason I didn’t go get you earlier is because Usopp convinced me that you were probably just tired.”

Sanji didn’t know whether to be thankful for Usopp or curse him entirely. Either way, this problem wasn’t anything he couldn’t handle. It actually gave him a bit more time to clean up and finish the cake, hopefully evading the judging eyes of Zoro and anyone else that might be awake. 

“Yeah, yeah. Let me just finish up this cake and I’ll get up there.”

This time Zoro’s reply was much quicker than before.

“You really think I’m letting you on guard duty now? If you’re thirty minutes late to guard the ship because you’re baking some cake, you won’t be able to guard it properly anyways.”

Now Zoro was getting on his nerves. He could guard the ship if he wanted to! Albeit maybe a bit worse than normal…

“Well luckily, you're not the one that “lets me” guard the ship. I don’t take commands from anyone but Nami-san, Robin-chan, and our captain. Now leave before I come up and beat your ass.”

“You’re talking way too cocky for someone I could easily knock off his feet right now…”

From up on the docks a quiet but distinct grumble could be heard. 

“But really. Is your head so far up your ass that you don’t remember that you have a duty to do? A crew to protect?”

Sanji felt his face grow hot with anger. Who was Zoro to tell him what to do? Half the time the idiot was either asleep or lost. Was he protecting the crew properly then? He would have gone up and fought Zoro himself if it weren’t for the cake and his cut finger. But at the same time...maybe he had a point. Maybe it was being selfish to think he could properly guard the ship in this state.

He sighed, leaning over to look at the cutting board and knife at the bottom of the sink, slowly being cleaned by a stream water from the faucet. His anger had quickly subsided and Sanji found himself agreeing with what Zoro had said. No matter how much he wanted to prove that idiot wrong, it would be dumb to try to guard the ship, sleep deprived and mind buzzing. 

“Fine, I won’t go on guard duty then. Now leave before I make you.”

There was another pause, with only the sound of the sink running in the background. It had been on this whole time even though Sanji had not been actively washing the board or knife. 

“You better get some sleep, you idiot. We can’t afford to be caught off guard in the New World.”

As soon as Zoro was far enough away Sanji let out a huge sigh of relief, slumping over the sink in a tired stupor. After this cake was done he would go to sleep. He had to. The crew depended on him after all, he couldn’t be messing around making cakes and worrying about something that happened earlier that week. 

The next ten or so minutes went by quickly. He cleaned the rest of the board and knife, cut the rest of the strawberries, took out the cake, and prepared the decorations. After the cake was safely in the fridge and the fridge itself was closed and locked, Sanji finally headed up to the deck.

From there he made his way over to the men’s quarters, trying to ignore Zoro who was napping against the mast. So much for guarding the ship correctly. Whatever, he couldn’t worry about the actions of an idiot. He had to get in some sleep himself. 

Slipping quietly into the room, he walked over to the first bunk and slid into the bottom bunk. The guys weren’t territorial over the beds in the slightest, except Sanji. This was within reason of course, as he needed quick access out of the room and into the kitchen first thing in the morning. Although he did suspect that quite a few of the guys didn’t follow this rule, as he would almost always find his bed a bit different than he had left it. The pillow thrown over the bed, brown fur on the sheets. Things he didn’t (or couldn’t) possibly do. 

And so when he set himself down to sleep, he could smell the distinct scent of meat coming from his bunk. Had Luffy been eating on his bed? He would have to talk to him about that later...but for now he would sleep.

Except he didn’t. For the next three hours he stared up at the bottom of the bunk above him, thinking of his whole interaction with Zoro. Worrying about his role in the crew and if he could really continue to fulfill it if he was like...this. And then finally, thinking of what had happened a few days prior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I based a lot of Sanji's thoughts on the things I dealt with while figuring out my gender identity (basically: lots of nights stressed out of my mind). And although I can't relate to his level of internalized homophobia, I definitely added in my experience on that too! So hopefully that is in some way accurate.


	2. Two Days Ago

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is a boring day on the Sunny and Sanji is looking for something to do. He decides to check up on Usopp for reasons unknown to even himsef, but what results from hanging out with his friend makes him incredibly uncomfortable. Basically, a recalling of what happened two days prior the the events of the last chapter, from the perspective of both Sanji and Usopp.

The memory of what had happened had been haunting him for too long at this point, even though in reality it hadn’t been long at all. The distinct thought of what he had experienced drove him insane. Sanji felt so gross thinking about it that he wanted to crawl out of his own skin. Or at least take a long cold shower to wash off the shame.

He had started worrying about it just after it happened, two days ago. It was mid morning and most of the crew was inside the ship, doing whatever. The only people on the docks were Robin and Nami, who were up by the mast chatting about books they had read recently. 

Sanji had just come out of the kitchen with drinks for the ladies, and after unsuccessfully attempting to join in on their conversation, he found himself with nothing to do. On calmer days like this Sanji would typically go cook something extra for the crew to enjoy, or go around and see if anything needed to be cleaned on the ship. After this he would go off to train. But it was hot out, and Sanji was feeling particularly restless. 

He could afford to be a bit lazy, as they had been out on the ocean without an island in sight for what had been...a week maybe? Sanji found himself content with the work he had achieved in the past week and thought it would be fine to have a small break before he went back to his duties. 

So he found himself on his way to Usopp’s room, where he could hear light hammering coming from. Actually, he wasn’t supposed to call it that. Usopp insisted that Sanji call it his “factory”. But he hardly ever remembered to do that.

Sanji rarely went down there but it had been relatively boring on the seas, and he was looking for something different to do. He had always been a bit curious about what Usopp got up to down there but never bothered to actually ask or see for himself. And today he felt especially inclined to go see Usopp, although he couldn’t exactly place the reason why. 

Treading down the staircase, Sanji found himself in the room, watching his friend hammer nails into some rotten pieces of wood. It was strange to say the least, but Sanji found himself a bit mesmerized by the sight and sound of it all. Usopp himself looked concentrated, not keeping his eyes off the work bench as he grabbed more wood and continued to hammer. 

Maybe it was so interesting to watch because there was a rhythm to it. The sound of wood clanking against the bench as Usopp hammered one, two, three nails into it. A sliding noise and then thud as Usopp got rid of another piece of wood and replaced it. His widening grin as he readily hammered six nails into a piece of wood with ease. This wasn’t a project per say but more of an exercise. And Usopp was excelling at it.

After a few minutes of watching, Sanji suddenly snapped out of his trance. Was he really this bored that he could be entertained by such a menial task? Actually...why did he come down here in the first place? Deep in thought, there was a loud bang and he found himself stumbling back in surprise. The floorboards below creaked, betraying his entrance into the room. 

Usopp turned around, looking up to see Sanji at the entrance to his room. His friend was stone-faced, an expression normally reserved for times where Sanji was thinking. 

“Sanji, what are you doing here? Do you need something?”

Trying not to get red in the face, Sanji brushed it off as if it was something completely normal.

“No, I was just bored and wanted to see what you were up to. But it doesn’t seem like much so...I think I’m going to head out.”

“Uh-huh. Well I was going to leave anyway, it’s roasting in here. So much for my work I guess...”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be in the kitchen then, if you need me.”

Usopp paused, shooting a confused look in Sanji’s direction. Something was off about him, something that he couldn’t put his finger on. But it was a weird situation after all, so he let the thought vanish as quick as it had first appeared. 

“Well, wait. I’m going to go up to the docks to chill, if you want to join me. The kitchen is probably much hotter than my room. I don’t think you want to be there right now.”

Now it was Sanji’s turn to pause. His friend was offering something nice that he would have no problems accepting normally, if not for the whole “staring at him working” situation. Then again, he would probably die of heatstroke in the kitchen. So it was probably worth it in the end. 

He shot a short nod in Usopp’s direction, not knowing what to say in response. Usopp flashed him a grin that made him feel a bit funny, and soon he was following his friend up onto the deck. 

The next thing he knew they were slumped over the railing, looking out onto the glistening sea that stretched far beyond what they had ever imagined as kids. Neither one of them had said anything on their way there and it didn’t look like that was going to change anytime soon. 

Usopp got off the railing and sat down, sliding through the railing so that his upper body was still on the deck but his legs were splayed out in between the bars, his feet dangling over the side of the ship. In so many ways Sanji was still reminded of a younger version of his friend, the smaller, more childish person that used to be Usopp. He had changed a lot not only in appearance, but in maturity. Sure he still complained and was often terrified, but he was a lot more confident. He carried himself in a different way that was rather hard for Sanji to precisely define. Either way, he seemed a lot older than previously.

Despite this, watching Usopp with his legs sandwiched between the bars and a bright expression on his face, Sanji couldn’t help but think of Usopp two years ago. A lot of the crew were all so young at that point, some of them not even adults yet. It was crazy to think of all they had gone through together and all the adventures that were still ahead of them. So much life to live with some of his favorite people in the world. He couldn’t ever express how glad he was to be there with them all. Even Zoro, although he would never say so out loud.

Taking his gaze off the ocean, he looked to Usopp. His friend had an expression of pure pride and excitement plastered on his face, the kind of expression not seen too often on Usopp. He only got like this when he was talking about things he loved, like his hometown or the crew. Sanji wondered what he was thinking about now. But he would never ask. That would be too personal, even for the crew.

It was strange, the crew was a family after all, but they never talked much about personal matters unrelated to their adventures. But in retrospect, it wasn’t that weird. Although the crew was very close, they were also a collection of very different individuals from all sorts of backgrounds, all joined together under one cause. Most of them had pasts that more or less weren’t exactly fun to talk about, and besides, they were focused on the present much more . Sanji suspected that there was so much he would never know about his crewmates in the past, but it didn’t bother him. Afterall, none of them would ever really know everything about him. Why should he expect to know everything about them?

Usopp looked up at Sanji, breaking his chain of thought. He had a goofy grin on his face and Sanji suspected he was up to something.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you put a whoopie cushion on my seat in the dining room or something?”

Usopp rolled his eyes and laughed.

“No, although now that you’ve said that, I should do that sometime. I was just thinking of when we first entered the grand line.”

“Ah, I see. That was such a long time ago.”

“Yeah, I guess. It doesn’t seem like it to me though. Time has gone by so fast since I first joined the crew. I can barely even remember a time when you weren’t on the ship.”

“Well, it wasn’t long after you that I joined, right?”

“But still. I feel like it’s gone by almost too fast. Even though it’s been exciting.”

Sanji paused as Usopp’s expression grew more wistful. He thought he knew what his friend was thinking of, although he couldn’t be sure.

“Hey, do you remember Merry?” Usopp asked, not looking at Sanji.

“Of course I do, you idiot. It’s only been two years and we were on the Merry much longer than we’ve been on the Sunny. How could I forget?”

“I know, but do you remember her? Like...the shape of her. And where you used to sleep and eat. Stuff like that, you know.”

“Sure I do. I spent too long in that kitchen to ever forget it.”

That forced a chuckle out of Usopp. He looked up at Sanji, cocking an eyebrow and grinning.

“Did you have a hard time adjusting to the kitchen here? You must have been so flip flopped when we first got the ship.”

“Yeah, but I was used to it. I’ve worked in a few kitchens before, so it wasn’t long before I was completely familiar with the space.”

He looked into the distance, suddenly smiling.

“I’m still not used to the lock on the fridge though. I mean, I don’t forget the password ever, but sometimes I’m surprised that it’s there. I forget that I don’t have to guard the kitchen from you guys now.”

Usopp laughed and stood up, brushing elbows with Sanji as he leaned once again over the railing. Sanji felt his stomach flutter a bit but ignored the feeling. 

“Fair enough. Me and Luffy used to go into the fridge and steal meat all the time. Chopper too, but only under our influence.”

He laughed to himself, gazing up at Sanji with another goofy expression in his face. 

“Man, no wonder you were so happy to finally get a lock.”

Sanji just grinned in response. 

They stood there for a bit in silence, both looking towards the sea without much in their minds except the vision in front of them. 

After a bit they both had the realization that it was getting a lot hotter outside. Sanji wasn’t one to reveal much, so he simply rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned his shirt collar a bit more. However as he was done doing his, he saw Usopp take off his shoes and roll up the pant part of his overalls. At this point Usopp was almost naked except for some pants that could almost pass as shorts if they weren’t so bunched up, and those two thin orange straps that held them up.

“God, it’s hot.” Usopp exclaimed, putting a hand on his forehead. 

Sanji was almost certain he looked horrible in the heat, but Usopp was practically glowing. He stood there looking vaguely at the sky, chest gleaming with sweat. Without the hat and everything you could really see his hair and face, silly but also quite handsome. He wasn’t particularly gorgeous like a male supermodel or built like a bodybuilder, but he had this gentle roughness to him that made him so attractive. 

All this amounted to a lot. Sanji felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realized that he couldn’t keep his eyes off his friend. The only thing he wanted to do at that moment was run away and hide in the kitchen, but he found himself suddenly frozen in place. 

Usopp barely noticed. He was too busy spread out on the deck, fiddling with his straps and slipping them over his shoulders casually. His overalls fell a bit and you could see some yellow boxers with ducks on them peaking out. If Sanji wasn’t focusing on other things he would have laughed at the sight of that.

Sanji felt his skin crawl as his heart thumped fast against his chest. If there was a lady in front of him in this exact position, he would be in awe and probably stare so much that the girl would definitely slap him. Even in that situation, he wouldn’t mind. But this was Usopp. His crewmate, his friend. Not only could Usopp catch on to what he was feeling but anyone else in the crew could. He couldn’t deal with his own feelings, let alone the crew’s reactions on top of it all. 

“I’m gonna go now.”

He started speed walking in the direction of the kitchen when suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. 

“Sanji, are you okay? You’ve been acting strange today.”

He did not want to have this conversation now. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Usopp. But he couldn’t walk away without offering an explanation for the way he was acting. 

Turning around, he scratched his head casually. It almost looked convincing, if not for the strange expression on his face.

“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

Usopp looked up into his face, trying to figure out what was up with his friend. He had no idea. Sanji was never this awkward. Never this willing to talk to Usopp and hang out with him. Not that he minded.

“I don’t know, you’ve been a bit off today I guess? Have you not been getting enough sleep lately? Cause that can creep up on you, ya know.”

“Oh yeah, it must be that. I’ll be sure to...sleep tonight. Thanks for the advice.” 

And with that he turned back, heading once again in the direction of the kitchen. Usopp was left standing there, wondering if he had figured out the truth or if Sanji had just been going along with his interpretation of it.

As he stood there, Usopp suddenly spotted Luffy in the corner of his eye. His captain had leapt up on the railing and was also watching Sanji walk away. He turned to Usopp.

“Hey, where’s Sanji off to? Is he going to go cook something for us?”

“Uhh...probably. I don’t know though, he’s been acting kinda weird today.”

Luffy was not phased by this in any way.

“Huh. Maybe he’s hungry.”

Usopp would have laughed if he was in the mood. But instead he simply slotted himself next to Luffy on the railing, watching as Sanji started to enter the kitchen.

“I don’t think so Luffy…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope the dialogue was fine? It's kind of my weak spot in writing but hopefully it conveyed well enough what I wanted to get across. 
> 
> Also it definitely wasn't clear but Usopp was just practicing his hammering technique on some useless wood so that he could help Franky out with the ship. This also might have made him think about the Merry later on but idk.


	3. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not being able to go to sleep, Sanji decides to do something else instead. The consequences of this lead to a very strange conversation involving the crew.

Sanji was left in his bunk, thinking mostly of Usopp and how he had reacted that day. It went far beyond just admiring him. The feelings he was having for his crewmate were akin to the emotions he only reserved for women he really wanted to be with. Because even though he could go crazy over any beautiful girl, it took a special one to make him feel lovesick.

In that moment where Usopp was asking if he was okay, their faces were awfully close. Not close enough so that their noses were touching but enough that it overwhelmed him. Sanji wanted to kiss him so badly. Even though he was freaked out of his mind and wanted to get away from it all, he couldn’t shake that jittery feeling.

There was nothing that could make this okay. And he knew that as much as he wanted to sleep, there was no way he could get this out of his mind. It would be there torturing him until he could distract himself enough to forget it for a bit.

Well, if he wasn’t going to get any sleep, he might as well do something. Sanji got up off his bunk slowly, careful not to wake anyone on his way out. Right before he left the room he shot a quick glance back at the bunks. Luffy was dangled over the side of one of the top bunks and Sanji could have sworn he saw him open one eye, although he wasn’t completely sure. Maybe it was the lack of sleep finally getting to him. Sanji shot another glance his way to be safe and sure enough, Luffy looked fast asleep. At least he knew he was going crazy now, instead of being unsure.

It was now almost four am. The guard shift had changed once again and as Sanji trudged towards the kitchen, he spotted Robin up against the mast with her glasses on and a big maroon book in her lap. He would have been worried about her lack of awareness if not for the random eye beside her on the mast that was no doubt a creation of her powers. Although it was a bit creepy, at least she was being careful.

He decided to quietly slip past her into the kitchen, but before he entered the kitchen he got a feeling that her one eye was watching him. It didn’t matter though, as of all the strawhats, Sanji was sure he could trust Robin. He knew that she loved secrets but unlike other more noisy crewmembers, she would simply giggle to herself and never say a word of it to anyone. He had first hand experience with this when she caught him in the men’s quarters nearly naked with a dirty magazine in hand. To that day no one had said a word about it, something that would have he would never heard the end of if Robin had chosen to tell someone.

Finally in the kitchen, he decided to make something grand. Afterall, if he was going to try to distract himself, he might as well go all out. And when he would suddenly think of the situation a few days ago, he would stop cooking for a second. That way he could avoid another accident.

The hours flew by. One second he was preparing the french toast, the next second he had a whole grand breakfast splayed out before him. And he hadn’t thought of Usopp that much. Except now. Now that he thought of not thinking about him, all he could think about was Usopp. Shit. He was really bad at this.

Sanji was so busy with his own thoughts that he didn’t even notice Luffy come in. But then there was a stretchy hand grabbing the ham, and he knew his captain was in the room. Swatting Luffy’s hand away with ease, Sanji turned to him with an exhausted look on his face.

“Sanji! The meat!”

“Yeah I know, but you know the rule. No big meals without everyone at the table first.”

Luffy narrowed his eyes, staring at Sanji with an intensity that was unmatched by his counterpart. It was almost as if he was trying to convince Sanji to let him have some ham without saying anything. Whatever he was doing though, it wasn’t working.

“Go get everyone if you want to eat so bad. But don’t blame me if they yell at you for waking them up so early.”

“Everyone’s already awake. Don’t you know what time it is?”

Sanji looked at the clock quickly. It was seven am. The last time he looked was when he had first entered the kitchen. He thought he had only spent an hour or so in there.

“Of course I know what time it is. I was joking.”

Luffy cast the cook a suspicious look. Sanji should have known that Luffy would know he was lying but what else could he have said? “I was in the kitchen almost all night and lost track of time?” No way, he would for sure question that.

“Okay."

Sanji watched Luffy leave, swiftly blocking his second attempt to steal some ham. Luckily he had a nice big breakfast to look forward to. It would be a relief to see everyone enjoying his cooking instead of thinking about other things. Even though he would still have to face Zoro and Usopp, which he wasn’t excited about in the least for completely different reasons. 

Luffy came back after a few minutes with a trail of people following him. Soon the whole crew was seated in the dining room, looking expectantly at the grand meal laid out on the kitchen counter. Most of them looked pretty excited at the thought of a whole breakfast feast being prepared for them. Others were not as happy. Zoro in particular, who had his elbow up on the chair looking over at Sanji. He seemed especially grumpy as he spotted Sanji and the feast he had prepared. Usopp sat next to him and was similarly off-put, but more concerned than angry. He noticed how Sanji was acting those past few days and saw the bags under his eyes. The cook was obviously going through something, although he had no idea what it was.

Over the next ten minutes Sanji bathed in the glory of going around serving his food and getting copious amounts of compliments thrown his way. It almost made up for how Usopp and Zoro were looking at him. Almost.

After making sure everything was perfect, Sanji finally sat down to eat. The food was...mouth watering. Definitely some of his best work, surprisingly. But as he was eating, he found that it was getting increasingly difficult to lift up his fork to take a bite. His eyesight was quickly getting blurrier as he struggled to stay awake. Sanji had only just touched his plate when he face-planted into his dish, fast asleep.

Unknown to him were the stares and gasps of the crew as his head suddenly slumped over onto the plate. Brook stood up suddenly, in horror of what he thought he had seen.

“Sanji-san’s been poisoned! He poisoned himself!”

Nami grabbed Brook by his collar and dragged the bony man down back into his seat.

“Relax, he’s just asleep.”

Brook let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank god. I don’t know how I could go on without ever tasting Sanji-san’s cooking again. Yohohohoho!” He said, laughing to himself.

The rest of the crew shifted in their seats, peering at Sanji with concern. They had never seen him do anything like this and it was shocking to say the least.

Zoro was the first one to speak up.

“What an idiot. I told him to go to sleep but I guess he didn’t listen to me.”

Upon hearing this the crew turned to Zoro, looking even more worried than before. Especially Usopp, who was staring at Sanji with a guilty look on his face, as if he had done something that might have caused this strange scene to happen.

“You told him to go to sleep? What was he doing last night?” Usopp asked, still looking at Sanji.

“He was in the kitchen baking a cake.”

That statement riled up the crew once again.

“Maybe someone’s birthday is today? That must be it! He was staying up late so that someone could have the perfect celebration.” Chopper exclaimed, trying to lighten the mood.

Zoro placed a hand gently on Chopper’s head to calm him down.

“No one's birthday is today.” He said.

“This isn’t normal for him to do. The fool was baking a cake during the time he was supposed to be on guard duty. Has anyone ever known him to forget such important details?” Zoro continued.

“Sanji-san is typically on top of stuff. The past week almost all he did was cook and clean. He wouldn’t miss a guard shift if his life depended on it.” Nami remarked, slowly taking a sip of some freshly squeezed orange juice.

“So something’s wrong with him then.” Zoro added.

He got no replies, only silent stares as the crew exchanged worried glances. Then out of the silence a voice piped up.

“I haven’t seen him sleep in a while.” Luffy said casually, munching on a piece of ham.

“Well that sounds bad but...how would you know Luffy?” Usopp asked.

The captain shrugged.

“I wake up a few times each night. I haven’t seen Sanji sleep recently, that’s all I know.”

Chopper sat up in his chair a bit as he processed the information Luffy gave them. Then he spoke up.

“If Sanji hasn’t slept for two or three days, it’s only natural that he would suddenly fall asleep. But why would he do that? He’s never reported any problems sleeping…”

“The way that idiot is, he probably wouldn’t. But no, I don’t think this is a consistent problem. We would probably know about it by now if it was.” Zoro said. 

Some of the guys nodded to Zoro’s statement, having each seen Sanji sleep pretty soundly as long as they had known him. Usopp looked down, looking even more guilty than before.

“Guys, I have something to confess…”

Everyone looked up at this remark.

“I might have made him like this. We were talking earlier this week, right around when he stopped sleeping. And that day he was acting weird so...maybe it was something I did?”

“What did you talk about? If you don’t mind sharing of course…” Robin said, leaning forward slightly.

“Oh, nothing really. We were just reminiscing about our adventures. I can’t think of anything that stood out about that conversation other than the fact that we talked about Merry. It wasn’t really the conversation that stood out in my mind though.”

Zoro frowned, looking at Sanji as if he could instantly figure out what was wrong with him. He was still petting Chopper’s head, who looked reasonably concerned as he looked in the same direction.

“If it wasn’t that, then what was it?” Zoro asked Usopp.

“I don’t know. He was just acting strange. Before we started talking I found him in my factory just standing there, watching me work. And I can’t remember the last time he’s been in there.”

Usopp paused, unsure if he wanted to say the next part. 

“When we were talking, there was one point where it got really hot out. And suddenly he wanted to leave. But he was really weird when he left. Like he was, well, embarrassed. But that doesn’t make sense. Sanji is always so composed. Maybe he was thinking of something and wanted to be alone for a second?”

“I don’t think that’s it. Go back for a quick second. What were you doing before he left? Was there anything that could have made him want to leave?” Nami asked.

He considered this question for a second.

“I don’t know, I was sitting I guess? All I can remember is being really hot and wanting to dive into the ocean. Wait, no. I remember now…”

The crew was on pins and needles, ready to hear what Usopp had to say next.

“I guess I had taken off my shoes and hat, and I’m pretty sure my pants were rolled up? It was hot out after all. Anyways I must have been fiddling with my straps a lot because I remember suddenly not having anything to hold up my overalls.”

Usopp stared for a second and then realized what he had just said.

“I mean, my pants didn’t fall down! At least, not that much-”

“How soon after you did that did the idiot leave?” Zoro interjected.

“Uhhh, only seconds after.”

Again, Usopp found himself staring and then instantly, he understood what was going on.

“Oh. Oh no, I didn’t mean-”

He looked at Sanji quickly, then back at the crew. All of them knew exactly what he had just figured out, with the exception of Luffy and Chopper.

“Wait guys, I know what you are thinking, but I really wasn’t that undressed. I mean, I still had pants on.”

“By the sounds of it, barely.” Nami remarked. She got up and walked over to where Sanji was, patting him on the head sympathetically.

“Geez, who knew a ladies man like him would be like this. I certainly didn’t expect this at all.” She said.

“Sanji likes Usopp?” Luffy asked, finally not lost in the conversation.

“Well, we don’t know that. All we know is that he liked what he saw.” Zoro replied dryly.

“Again, I don’t know what you guys are saying. Sanji is straight. I mean, you know him. There’s no way he left because of that.” Usopp said, desperate to steer the conversation in a different direction. He felt even worse about causing Sanji to lose sleep, not to mention the distinct possibility that he had accidentally outed him.

“He’s not straight.” Both Nami and Zoro said, almost at the same time.

“There’s no way he’s straight.” Nami continued.

“I guess it makes sense. When I first met him I thought he was playing up a character when he was around women. After I got to know him I almost accepted that he was just that perverted but still...it didn’t feel right.”

Zoro nodded at this. “I had a feeling something was up.”

Usopp hit him in the arm.

“Sure you did.”

“Usopp, you think you would know before me? You don’t even like guys…”

“And you do?”

“Yeah, actually. I thought everyone knew already.”

The crew stared for a second, all in amazement at the scene that was gradually folding out before them.

Robin shifted in her seat. “I knew. I didn’t tell anyone though.”

“Well if we’re coming out, I like guys too. And women of course.” Usopp added.

There was a bit more silence as the crew looked around, curious to see if anyone else would come forward. Finally Nami raised her hand.

“I’ve been in a secret relationship with Vivi for over two years. Just so you all know.”

Luffy perked up at the mention of Vivi’s name.

“Really? How’s she been?”

“Vivi’s been great. Actually, she’ll love it when I tell her-”

“Wait, hold on Nami.” Usopp interrupted, taking his eyes off of Sanji to look at the crew with a stern expression.

“What?”

“I’d like this to be a secret. I mean, we all know, but I’d like it if we didn’t tell anyone else. Or really discuss it at all. Obviously Sanji is like this because he’s probably freaked out, you know. There’s a reason he has this whole ladies man persona afterall.”

Nami considered this, a look of sudden realization on her face.

“Oh. Yeah, of course. None of us will talk about it...right?” She scanned the crew, shooting daggers at everyone. They all knew from experience that crossing her would only lead to owing a massive amount of money that they didn’t even have. And none of them wanted that.

“And not a word to Sanji about anything discussed here.” Usopp said, wagging a finger at them.

All of a sudden there was a creak at the table as Sanji lifted his head off his plate, having woken up from a short but sweet nap.  
“What about me?”

“Uhhh...nothing Sanji. Go back to sleep now, okay?” Usopp responded, gently trying to push his head back onto the table.

“No. What’s going on here?” 

Usopp turned to him, ready to say something. But before he could respond he suddenly spotted a bunch of thin pale hands surrounding Sanji.

“I got this.” Robin said calmly as the hands started lowering Sanji onto the floor, chair and all.

“I’m going to take you to your bunk now Sanji. If you aren’t sleeping within the next hour we’ll bring Zoro in to make sure you do.”

Sanji yelled a bit in surprise but then quickly accepted his fate as he was carted away to the men’s quarters. After a bit the rest of the crew continued eating their breakfast, discussing normal life and at some points, ways of making Sanji more comfortable. No one checked on Sanji during the following hour, but as no one had heard from him yet, they all assumed he was away at his bunk sleeping.

It was only after the dishes had been cleaned and the food put away that they dispersed and Usopp went to the men’s quarters with Zoro to check on him. After confirming he was asleep Zoro left, leaving behind Usopp to watch him.

Usopp sat beside Sanji as he slept, looking down at him and trying to imagine what in the world had been going on in his head before. He was glad the whole affair was over, Sanji was asleep, and he didn’t have to worry too much about outing one of his best friends.

In such a deep sleep, Sanji actually looked kinda cute. But it was way too early to be thinking that. Usopp would reserve thoughts like that for later, when both of them had it all figured out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...I kind of forgot to write Franky into this fic. Well, not really. I just didn't know what he would say in this situation. Also I know that this is the least realistic chapter just because if this situation actually happened to the crew, there would be so many people all talking at once. Sadly I can't get that affect across while writing without making the chapter really cluttered and confusing. So I apologize for that.


End file.
